Billie Eilish faces backlash after criticising 'lying' in rap music
Billie Eilish has come under fire for comments stating that there is "a lot of lying" within rap music.
The five-time Grammy Award winner, who has received acclaim for her dark, alternative pop, said the "posturing" in the genre is "not what [she's] doing".
“Just because the story isn’t real doesn’t mean it can’t be important," the 18-year-old told US Vogue. "There’s a difference between lying in a song and writing a story. There are tons of songs where people are just lying. There’s a lot of that in rap right now, from people that I know who rap.
Read more: Billie Eilish defends 33-year-old Drake for texting her when she was 17
"It’s like, ‘I got my AK-47, and I’m f****n’,’ and I’m like, what? You don’t have a gun. ‘And all my b****s…’ I’m like, which b*****s? That’s posturing, and that’s not what I’m doing.”
Her remarks received a negative reception among many rap fans who implied her views were outdated.
One of her detractors was Ferrari Sheppard, a US artist, activist and record producer.
He shared: "Billie Eilish will win even harder now that she's taken a colonial approach to hip hop. Would you prefer rap stories be 100% nonfiction so we can produce more dead or incarcerated rapstars? Stfu and stay in your lane."
Billie Eilish will win even harder now that she's taken a colonial approach to hip hop. Would you prefer rap stories be 100% nonfiction so we can produce more dead or incarcerated rapstars? Stfu and stay in your lane.
— Ferrari Elite Sheppard (@stopbeingfamous) February 5, 2020
While journalist Matthew Zeitlin shared: "This was maybe true when billie eilish was in pre school, now all anyone raps is about is how many prescription pills they take and, quite tragically, they don't seem to be exaggerating much if at all."(sic)
Meanwhile, another Twitter user wrote: "I’m just not looking to Billie Eilish for the hard hitting opinions on hip-hop."
"BREAKING: Billie Eilish repeats tired talking points about rap and hip-hop that have been around since the 90s," another shared.
BREAKING: Billie Eilish repeats tired talking points about rap and hip-hop that have been around since the 90s
— Jose G. 🇲🇽 (@marty_freudman) February 4, 2020
Eilish has previously listed a number of rap artists among those who inspire her and she was also friends with rapper XXXTentacion who died in 2018, even dedicating a song to the controversial artist in the wake of his passing.
